Oxford and Liverpool scientists launch new vaccine trial for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

The University of Oxford started to develop a vaccine against MERS using the ChAdOx1 platform before the COVID-19 pandemic. This underlines the need for continued global funding and focus on vaccine development for lesser-known diseases. “Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had already tested our ChAdOx1 MERS vaccine in young adults in the UK and Saudi Arabia. The trial is led by the University of Oxford’s Oxford Vaccine Group, funded by CEPI, and delivered by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Liverpool University Hospitals NIHR Liverpool Clinical Research Facility at Royal Liverpool University Hospital. This trial is an exciting opportunity to build on our partnership with Liverpool, developed during the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trials, to investigate a promising vaccine against another potentially lethal coronavirus.”